How do you say car in Chinese?

汽车 (qìchē), pronounced roughly chee-CHUH. It literally reads as steam vehicle, a nineteenth-century coinage that stuck. In casual speech people often just say 车 (chē), meaning vehicle.

What does 新能源汽车 mean?

New energy vehicle: the official Chinese category covering battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars. It is a policy term, not a marketing one, and it determines which cars get the green plate and the purchase-tax break.

Why does 电动车 sometimes mean a scooter?

Because in everyday speech it usually does. 电动车 covers any electric vehicle, and the tens of millions of electric two-wheelers on Chinese streets claimed the word first. For an electric car, say 电动汽车 or 纯电动汽车.

Literally old man's joy: a slang name for the tiny, cheap, low-speed four-wheelers common in smaller cities and the countryside. Most were built to no vehicle standard, and cities have been phasing them out since about 2021.

Are Chinese versions of foreign car brands translations or transliterations?

Both, and the best ones do two jobs at once. 特斯拉 for Tesla is pure sound; 大众 for Volkswagen is pure meaning; 宝马 for BMW and 奔驰 for Mercedes-Benz echo the sound while also meaning precious horse and to gallop.

Chinese Car Vocabulary: 汽车, 新能源 and 40 Words You Will See on the Road

Chinese car vocabulary is mostly compound words built from ordinary characters, which makes it more learnable than it looks. 汽车 is "steam vehicle". 充电桩 is "charging post". 老头乐 is "old man's joy". Once the pattern is visible, a price list or a road sign stops being opaque.

Every entry gives the characters, pīnyīn with tone marks, a pronunciation hint, the literal reading and what the word does. The hints approximate the sound for an English speaker; Mandarin tones carry meaning and no romanisation replaces hearing the word.

Cars and body types

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
汽车	qìchē	chee-CHUH	steam vehicle	car; the general word for a motor car
车	chē	CHUH	vehicle	used alone in speech for any vehicle
轿车	jiàochē	jyow-CHUH	sedan-chair vehicle	saloon / sedan
越野车	yuèyěchē	yweh-YEH-chuh	cross-wilderness vehicle	off-roader; often used loosely for SUV
SUV	—	ess-you-vee	—	borrowed unchanged; more common than 越野车 in ads
二手车	èrshǒuchē	AR-show-chuh	second-hand vehicle	used car

Powertrains — the words that decide the plate and the tax

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
新能源汽车	xīn néngyuán qìchē	shin NUNG-ywen chee-chuh	new energy vehicle	the official category: battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars on the state catalogue
电动汽车	diàndòng qìchē	dyen-DOONG chee-chuh	electric-powered car	electric car
电动车	diàndòngchē	dyen-DOONG-chuh	electric vehicle	in daily speech usually an electric two-wheeler, not a car
纯电	chúndiàn	chwun-DYEN	pure electric	battery-electric (BEV)
插电混动	chādiàn hùndòng	chah-DYEN hwun-doong	plug-in mixed-power	plug-in hybrid (PHEV)
增程	zēngchéng	dzung-CHUNG	range-increasing	range-extender (EREV): electric drive, engine as generator
油电混动	yóudiàn hùndòng	yo-DYEN hwun-doong	oil-electric mixed-power	conventional hybrid (HEV)
燃油车	rányóuchē	rahn-YO-chuh	burning-oil vehicle	petrol or diesel car
续航	xùháng	shoo-HAHNG	continue-voyage	range, in km — always check which test cycle
电池	diànchí	dyen-CHR	electric pool	battery

Charging and refuelling

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
充电桩	chōngdiànzhuāng	choong-DYEN-jwahng	charging post	charging point
快充	kuàichōng	kwye-CHOONG	fast charge	DC fast charging
慢充	mànchōng	mahn-CHOONG	slow charge	AC charging
换电站	huàndiànzhàn	hwahn-DYEN-jahn	exchange-electricity station	battery swap station
加油站	jiāyóuzhàn	jyah-YO-jahn	add-oil station	filling station

Roads and traffic

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
高速公路	gāosù gōnglù	gaow-SOO goong-loo	high-speed public road	expressway; signed in green
收费站	shōufèizhàn	show-FAY-jahn	collect-fee station	toll plaza
ETC	—	ee-tee-see	—	the electronic toll transponder, used unchanged
服务区	fúwùqū	foo-WOO-chü	service area	motorway services, usually with chargers
停车场	tíngchēchǎng	TING-chuh-chahng	stop-vehicle ground	car park
堵车	dǔchē	DOO-chuh	blocked vehicles	traffic jam
限行	xiànxíng	shyen-SHING	limit driving	the city driving restriction, usually by plate digit
交警	jiāojǐng	jyaow-JING	traffic police	traffic police officer
违章	wéizhāng	way-JAHNG	against the rules	a traffic violation, and the points that follow

Paperwork, money and the dealership

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
车牌	chēpái	chuh-PIE	vehicle plate	licence plate
蓝牌	lánpái	lahn-PIE	blue plate	ordinary combustion-car plate
绿牌	lǜpái	lü-PIE	green plate	the eight-character new energy plate
摇号	yáohào	yaow-HOW	shake the number	the plate lottery
拍牌	pāipái	pie-PIE	auction the plate	the plate auction
上牌	shàngpái	shahng-PIE	put on the plate	to register a car
车管所	chēguǎnsuǒ	chuh-GWAN-swaw	vehicle management office	the DMV equivalent, under the public security bureau
驾照	jiàzhào	jyah-JOW	driving licence	driving licence, informal
驾驶证	jiàshǐzhèng	jyah-SHR-jung	driving certificate	driving licence, the formal term
年检	niánjiǎn	nyen-JYEN	annual inspection	the periodic roadworthiness check
4S店	sì S diàn	suh-ESS dyen	four-S shop	franchised dealership
发票	fāpiào	fah-PYAOW	issued ticket	the official tax invoice
车险	chēxiǎn	chuh-SHYEN	vehicle insurance	car insurance generally
交强险	jiāoqiángxiǎn	jyaow-CHYAHNG-shyen	traffic compulsory insurance	the mandatory third-party cover
商业险	shāngyèxiǎn	shahng-YEH-shyen	commercial insurance	optional cover: own damage, higher limits

Cars people ride and cars people talk about

汉字	Pīnyīn	Say it like	Literally	On the road
出租车	chūzūchē	choo-DZOO-chuh	rent-out vehicle	metered taxi
网约车	wǎngyuēchē	wahng-yweh-CHUH	net-booked vehicle	ride-hailing; the regulator's own term
老头乐	lǎotóulè	LAOW-toe-luh	old man's joy	slang for the cheap low-speed four-wheeler
智驾	zhìjià	jr-JYAH	smart driving	driver assistance and automated driving features
辅助驾驶	fǔzhù jiàshǐ	foo-JOO jyah-shr	assisted driving	the careful term regulators prefer
座舱	zuòcāng	dzwaw-TSAHNG	seat cabin	the cabin, as a designed and connected space

Three of these deserve a sentence more.

电动车 versus 电动汽车. The short form belongs to two-wheelers. There are hundreds of millions of electric bicycles and scooters in China, governed by their own national standard — GB 17761-2024, which caps assisted speed at 25 km/h from 1 September 2025 — and in ordinary conversation 电动车 means one of those. Say 电动汽车 or 纯电动汽车 if you mean a car.

老头乐. Tiny, slow, cheap four-wheelers, widely used by older people in smaller cities and the countryside and mostly built outside the type-approval system. Sixth Tone reported that traffic authorities recorded about 830,000 accidents involving them between 2013 and 2018, with roughly 18,000 deaths, and Beijing announced a phase-out with a grace period in July 2021. They are being regulated out of existence rather than standardised; the compliant micro-EV replaced them.

智驾. Chinese marketing leaned hard on this word until regulators pushed back on driver-assistance claims. Newer material tends to use the more conservative 辅助驾驶.

How foreign car brands get Chinese names

A foreign brand entering China needs a Chinese name, and there are three ways to build one.

Pure transliteration. Pick characters for their sound and accept whatever they happen to mean. Tesla is 特斯拉 (Tèsīlā, "tuh-suh-LAH") — three characters chosen for sound with no combined meaning. Audi is 奥迪 (Àodí). BYD's own Chinese name works the same way in reverse: 比亚迪 (Bǐyàdí, "BEE-yah-DEE") carries no literal meaning, and the English initials were later given the backronym "Build Your Dreams".

Pure translation. Render the meaning and ignore the sound. Volkswagen is 大众 (Dàzhòng, "dah-JOONG") — "the masses" — which is exactly what the German name says. Great Wall Motor is 长城 (Chángchéng), "Great Wall".

Sound plus sense, the prized category. BMW is 宝马 (Bǎomǎ, "BOW-mah") — "precious horse", echoing the B and M of the initials while promising something worth riding. Mercedes-Benz is 奔驰 (Bēnchí, "bun-CHR") — both characters mean to run fast, and together they approximate "Benz". MG trades as 名爵 (Míngjué, "ming-JWEH"), "famous nobility".

Chinese brands mostly name themselves in the same registers. 吉利 (Jílì, "jee-LEE") means auspicious. 红旗 (Hóngqí, "hoong-CHEE") means red flag. 理想 (Lǐxiǎng, "lee-SHYAHNG"), the maker sold abroad as Li Auto, means ideal. 蔚来 (Wèilái, "way-LYE"), sold as NIO, pairs a character suggesting a luxuriant blue sky with the verb to come. 极氪 (Jíkè, "JEE-kuh"), sold as Zeekr, is a coinage: 极 extreme, plus the character for the element krypton.